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Moving In
The paranoid security bot, Red Alert, and the fearful weapon, Archetype, meet for the first time and come to an interesting and very helpful agreement for them both. ((March 29th 2023)) Characters Involved: Red Alert played by Suburban Wolf (Chasm) The Archetype '''played by '''Imaginary (Arch) Red Alert There were noises coming from one of the open rooms in the base. Not that this was unusual. There were normally noises coming from rooms in the base. These noises could be dismissed as normal noises for the base, except for the fact that they were so quiet. Within the room, a red and white bot was working on what could be considered a computer terminal. There were wires everywhere, and circuit chips, and various other electronic parts. Metal panels were partially assembled, and the bot was arranging the electronic components within the shape that had been made. Every so often, the bot's head would jerk up for apparently no reason. Then, he'd mutter to himself and resume working. Suddenly, his head shot up again. This time, it didn't go back down, and he watched the doorway intensely. Archetype Arc had been walking by quietly as usual when they heard noises coming from the room. Being a bit paranoid they found that unsettling, even if their danger sense wasn't alerting them to anything dangerous. They noted what room the noises were coming from. That room had been unused last time they'd checked, which only served to heighten their curiosity. They crept over to the door almost silently and peeked inside just as the red and white mech jerked his head up. They immediately went invisible at the first sign of movement and stayed perfectly still waiting for him to go back to what he was working on. Once he looked back down arc moved into the doorway a bit more, curious as to who the stranger was and what they were working on. They froze again when the mech looked up again and didn't look back down this time. They began to panic slightly. Could he see them somehow? Red Alert Red Alert's optics watched the doorway. Someone was there. He knew it. He heard them walking in... "Who's there?" He questioned nervously. "I know you're there! Show yourself! I've spent countless stellar cycles dealing with Mirage, so I know you're there!" He started to get up, and reach into subspace for his weapon. The room hadn't been completed and labeled yet, but he still treated the room as if it was. He'd already created the safe for all the hard copies of classified files, and had them locked away. The rest of the room had yet to be as secure. Archetype Arc's danger sense reacted a bit as the mech reached into his subspace. They let out a whimper cowering back and turning visible as they had been told to show themself. "I- I'm sorry!" they yelped. "P-please d-don't hurt me!" They didn't dare look at the mech, partially ashamed and partially afraid that they'd see a weapon aimed at them. They stood there trembling. Part of them yearned to run but part of them was too scared to move. They hoped they hadn't screwed up too badly, what if they'd angered the stranger by snooping around? Worry began to fill them and they let out another whimper, this one almost inaudible. Red Alert Red Alert left his weapon at his side, surprised. It was a smaller bot, and he wasn't sure if they were a youngling or a mini-bot. "Who are you?" His tone wasn't angry any more, but there was still a level of suspicion. He walked so that he was positioned in front of his project. "What are you doing here?" Archetype "I-I'm Arc..." the mini-bot said in a whimper. "I... I heard noises... and I... I was curious..." They backed up a bit still not looking at the larger bot even though their danger sense wasn't reacting anymore. They considered going invisible again but worried that that may anger the stranger again. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to cause any trouble..." They still hadn't stopped trembling and their paint made that obvious. Red Alert Red Alert slipped his weapon back into subspace. "Well, Arc, you didn't cause any trouble. Just startled me. Trying to set up here, and it's taking too long. Who knows if the Decepticons are already preparing to attack!" He threw his arms in the air and began to pace. "I'm surprised that this place is still standing and is in one piece. There's so many gaps in security!" He looked at Arc again. "Arc....Archetype? I don't believe I have a complete file on you yet..." With that, Red Alert went into the safe and began sorting through the data pads before pulling one out'. "Here it is! Now, I need you to fill this out as completely as possible. With ''everything about yourself. If I find out that there was something you didn't put on here, then there's going to be grave consequences. If it makes you feel better, only a handful of the officers are allowed access to the files, and even then certain parts are classified to them."' '''Archetype' Arc looked up briefly to take the data pad. "O-okay..." they said nervously. They wondered if they even knew all the information the mech wanted. What if they didn't know something and he got made? "What if I don't know everything? I'm sorta... broken... so..." They hoped they weren't being out of line asking that, they just didn't want to be punished for something they couldn't help. Then again it seemed no one ever punished them, even when they seemed to deserve it. They made mistakes often, sometimes really bad ones, but for some reason no one did anything about it. They just said it was okay or that they'd know better next time. Why did everyone treat them so nicely when they couldn't seem to do anything right? When all they did was make things worse? Red Alert Red Alert looked at Arc quizzically. "Broken? If you're broken, then Ratchet should have fixed you up, unless you're avoiding him." Red Alert wouldn't be extremely surprised if that were the case, especially with how jittery this bot seemed to be. "Plus, I can always contact Perceptor and ask him. Probably wouldn't believe me, though..." In fact, Red Alert had to wonder just how the scientist would take the news. He was having a hard time believing it himself. Archetype Arc looked at the floor and shook their head. "It's not that kind of broken... I'm incomplete... There are parts of me that just aren't there and some of the parts that are there don't function properly..." They went quiet for a moment thinking about the name "Perceptor." Why did that name sound so familiar? The small bot didn't realize that it was because the name was all over their design specs that had accidentally been downloaded to their processor during the chaos that marked the event that brought them online. They looked up at the larger mech. "Who's Perceptor?" Red Alert Red Alert moved back to the half-finished panel, grabbing a small bundle of wires. He felt oddly...at ease around Arc. Something that was odd for him. His glitch wasn't screaming conspiracy theories at him. It was silent. "Perceptor's the one who created you. He'd probably be able to finish you as well, if you wanted that." He leaned into the panel, attaching the wires where they needed to go, then popped his head up again. Archetype Arc went quiet for a moment thinking about what they had just been told. "He created me... So... Does that mean he's my... dad?" Arc had a vague concept of family, they didn't fully understand it. For so long they thought they had no family whatsoever, the idea of having a father intrigued them a bit. But as they considered the idea another thought seeped into their processor, a more concerning one. "Are you sure he'd want to meet me after all the trouble I've caused? What if..." They cringed slightly not really wanting to think about the idea. "What if he... hates me?" They asked, their voice going quiet. As much as Arc loved the idea of having a father they deeply feared the idea that that father might hate them. Red Alert "Yes, he would be your dad." He stated, grabbing some chips and examining them before selecting a few. "And I'm afraid I'm not quite sure what you're talking about. He doesn't even know you're still online. No one knew what happened to you after you were prematurely brought online. He'd be thrilled to know you're alive and doing well." With that, he stuck his head inside his project once more, attempting to fit the chips in. "Don't know how the Decepticons have not attacked this place yet. There's absolutely nothing to protect it!" He muttered, mostly to himself. Archetype Arc's worry started to fade slightly. Thrilled to know they were alive? Could that be true? But why? Why would someone be happy to know that someone who's very existence caused so much damage was alive? It just didn't make sense to Arc. "Are you sure he'd be happy? Even after what happened?" They then thought about what the mech had muttered about the Decepticons not attacking. "Well... When I'm here a lot of the time I can warn everyone if Decepticons are coming..." they said in an attempt to offer an explanation. They hoped that would be a good enough answer, or would at the least help. Red Alert "You had no control over what happened." Red Alert replied, pulling himself out of the metal box. "I'm not even completely sure what happened myself. I was just starting out in Security around that time." He took a look at what he still had to do, and grabbed some more wires before half-crawling back in. Red Alert nearly hit his head against the metal at Arc's next comment. "W-what? How do you known when they're coming?" He scrambled out of the panel, and looked at Arc in amazement. Archetype {"I may not have had control over it, but still it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for me..."} Arc thought to themselves. They didn't say it out loud because they figured the security bot didn't want to hear them talk about the tragedy they'd caused anymore. Most people seemed to not like it when they spoke about it that much, which didn't bother them all that much as they preferred not to think about it themselves. However what Arc failed to realize was that a lot of the time people didn't like them to talk about it because they didn't like seeing the mini-bot blame themselves for it. "I can feel them coming with my danger sense." Arc answered shyly, wondering if maybe they had said something wrong to earn such a reaction. Part of them wanted to simply retreat out the door, apologize for bothering him and leave, but they didn't want to seem rude and figured that doing such would seem that way. Red Alert Red Alert tilted his head. "You mean, you know when something dangerous is going to happen?" He extracted himself fully from his project, walking over to Arc. "What exactly can you detect with it?" Never before had Red Alert considered asking another bot to join him in taking care of the security of the base. Then again, most bots would rather not have to deal with the boringness of the job. He let out something similar to a sigh. {"Maybe it's not such a good idea...They probably want to enjoy their free time and have fun..."} Archetype "Well... a lot of things..." Arc answered, looking up at the mech for a moment before looking away again shyly. "The more immediate the threat the stronger the feeling is, but I can also sense potential danger. It's a lot more subtle but it's there. Even minor things like pranks I can feel. And I can also feel where the threat is coming from." They hoped they were giving enough information, they really didn't know what else to include. That was the basics of it after all, they just felt it. They wondered why the security bot wanted to know about it so much. "Is there something... wrong with that?" they asked nervously. Red Alert Red Alert shook his head. "No, not at all. Just...crazy thoughts...." He turned back to his project. "Well, sorry for yelling at you like that. Just...for further reference, this is the security room. I'm Red Alert, the Chief of Security. So...when you're done updating your file, just drop it off in here. Just answer everything the best you can." {"Why would you have even thought they'd want to do boring security stuff, and deal with all your half-baked theories?"} He chided himself mentally as he started to get back to work. Archetype "Okay, I will..." Arc said, taking that to mean he wanted them to leave. They turned to do so but stopped thinking about what Red Alert had said. Crazy thoughts? What could he possibly mean by that? "You don't seem crazy to me..." they said somewhat quietly. "And at least you're helpful. I came here to help but... I'm not really useful at all..." They stood there for a moment trying to ignore the painful heavy feeling they got in their spark from considering themself nothing but a burden. They shook their head slightly snapping themself out of it. "I'm sorry I bothered you..." They said in what was almost a whisper and then started heading towards the door. Red Alert Red Alert stopped with what Arc said. {"To help? Maybe I could ask....."} He turned to look at Arc. "Actually, I might know of a way you could help, if you wanted to." He also found it a little comforting that Arc didn't think he was crazy. Either that, or they didn't know about his glitch. "I...uh...kinda need some help with the security around the base...and...well....." He stopped, not sure how to continue. Archetype Arc stopped, surprised by the offer. "A-are you sure you'd want me to help? I tend to screw up a lot and I wouldn't want to risk putting everyone in danger..." They secretly wondered why anyone would actually want their help, or why the Autobots still let them stay here for that matter. It's not like they really did much good around here, at least not that they could tell. In fact, sometimes they thought they were doing more damage than they were helping. But what if Red Alert saw something that indicated they'd be good at security? They turned and looked at the security chief shyly. "Do you really thing I'd be good at it?" Red Alert Red Alert nodded. "Well, you'd said you wanted to help, and I know security isn't the most exciting job there is, but you'd probably be really good at it." He smiled a bit. "And there's really not much to it. Most of the time, I'll be in here with the monitors, so you'll be pretty free, and I can show you the ropes." The security chief wasn't sure why, but he believed Arc would be successful in the security area. "Plus, if you find something else you want to do instead, you can go ahead an do it..." Archetype "Well... As long as you're sure..." Arc said a bit nervously. They were still worried about messing up. In their mind most of the choices they made were the wrong ones, and being in security now what if a bad decision put everyone in danger. They looked down and away from Red Alert a bit as though ashamed. "If... If I mess up and you don't want me to help anymore... I'll understand..." they said a bit quietly. The truth was they feared anyone getting hurt because of them. It really wasn't a surprise considering what had happened in the past. They often found themself wondering if they should have even come to Earth in the first place. Maybe everyone would have been better off if they had just stayed away, nonexistent in a sense. Red Alert Red Alert had to laugh a bit. "Well, as long as someone is keeping an eye on things, it's kinda hard to mess up security." Actually, Red Alert could probably think of a million different ways that something could go wrong, but he didn't want to worry Arc. "In fact, you could give me a hand right now. I'm putting together the control panel for everything that's going to be up in the next few Earth-days." A good part of it was already up, like perimeter sensors and security cameras, but it wasn't hooked up. Archetype "Alright, but... I don't really know how to do any of that..." Arc said, starting to walk over to the partially assembled control panel slowly and nervously. They'd never even tried to build something before, they had no idea what they were supposed to do. They peered inside the control panel. It looked confusing and they started getting more and more nervous by the second. They really didn't want to mess up something so important. Red Alert "It's alright. I more or less just need most of the stuff handed to me. It'll make it get done faster." He grabbed some wires, and leaned into the panel, hooking wires up inside to some circuits. "Arc, could you hand me that large circuit board? It should be the one closest to you." Archetype Arc looked to their side and spotted a large circuit board right next to them. They picked it up carefully, worried they might break, it and handed it to Red Alert. "Is this it?" they asked nervously, hoping they had gotten it right. They were still learning a lot so they weren't entirely sure that that was, in fact, a circuit board, and since they didn't interact with others often that learning process was going a bit slowly. Red Alert Red Alert popped his head up, and took the circuit board. "That's it!" He replied, leaning back in. "Very important part. This is the motherboard. It'll be in charge of running the whole thing." As he talked, he connected a bunch of the wires to the board that were already in the panel. He also discretely slipped a small chip onto the mother board. {"Got that in place..."} Archetype "Oh, okay." Arc said not really knowing what else to say. Part of them was tempted to ask how it worked but they didn't want to be a bother at all. They were supposed to be helping after all. They shifted slightly, a bit nervous. "Do you need anything else?" Red Alert Red Alert's head popped up, and looked at the pieces still scattered around. "Umm...I think I've got the rest of it, but you're more than welcome to stay, if you've got any more questions about what you'll be doing. Other than that, you can go. I'll let you know when you're supposed to start work." He gave a small smile, a rarity. "I don't want to bore you to death with having to sit here and watch me." Archetype Arc nodded. "Alright, I'll just let you work then..." Arc said, not wanting to be in the way or distract the larger mech. They glanced around a bit as they started making their way back to the door. It felt strange to actually have a place of sorts now. For so long long now they'd felt like they didn't belong somehow. Category:Finished Threads